by Kiki Leach
“I’m not, not in this case. I wished to know for myself if despite it all, you were indeed happy with your life. Happy with Norvack. Are you?”
“Yes.”
He moved his head about. “You don’t appear as happy as one should be in rising from the slums of Hadenville to a palace on the highest point of the hill. You don’t appear as happy as your husband did with that servant girl.”
“My God, you and the king are two giant peas inside of a wilting pod.”
“I am only explaining to you how I see things, Cinderella.”
“Then I shall do the same. You were sent here to destroy Norvack and as his wife, I shall warn him of it.”
As I turned from him, he reached out for my arm and yanked me back as hard as he could.
“You shall never inform him of this. Either king will gladly have my head and serve it to the other on a platter at the next banquet!”
I snatched my arm back. “Do you honestly believe I shall stand by and say nothing as you all attempt to slice my husband’s throat without a warning first?”
“I informed you of why I was sent here, the truth. I never informed you that it was my intention to follow through with those orders.”
“And I am to believe that you would go against both kings for a man you hardly know?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Is it not the noble thing to do?”
“I have never known a man such as you to be noble for any reason, let alone for the sake of another man.”
“You love this man?” he asked.
“Very much.”
“Then perhaps this is all the reason I need. Excuse me.”
He traveled across the room, meeting Esme in a dimly lit corner, one no one would notice if not for the color of her gown. Before I had known a thing, they were off together, escaping the ballroom as fast as they could. She seemed to giggle to herself while he kept a stern focus straight ahead.
One of the servants came up to me then, handing me a tiny scroll.
“Thank you,” I said. He bowed and turned away.
As I unraveled it, I noticed Norvack’s delicate handwriting.
Meet me in our chambers at once, it read. I quickly rolled the scroll and gathered my gown, and glanced at the king and queen dancing once last time before slipping to my chambers.
When I entered, I saw Norvack sitting on the edge of the bed. I closed the door, locking it behind me and placed the note on the table.
“You called for me?” I said.
“I’m to meet with John this evening, as well as the king and a few members of my court. My father called it an impromptu summit of sorts.”
“What are you to speak of?”
“I’m not certain, exactly.”
I crossed my arms over one another and thought for a moment. “I spoke with him as you danced with Brigita.”
“I noticed.” He grumbled. “What did you to speak of?”
“You. He informed me of what we were certain of from the beginning.”
Norvack nodded. “That he was sent to destroy me.”
“Yes. The true question is, how do you plan to proceed now knowing it as fact? He has hardly been here a day and is already creating waves inside the palace and will continue to do so with your men. How do you plan to destroy him before he can?”
“Is that what I am to do?” he asked. He got up from the bed and loosened his collar as he crossed the room. “Perhaps I should allow him to destroy me. Perhaps my father should win--”
“Are you drunk?” I asked.
“Not yet.” He reached for the brandy on the desk and poured some into an empty goblet, taking a sip. “My father wishes to destroy me with the help of a man from another country. A man who has bedded my wife--”
“Norvack--”
“A man who wishes to usurp my throne.”
“But we already knew this! It’s not as if you were never made aware of it prior to now.”
“You led me to believe my father wished for me to destroy John instead.”
“Perhaps he does!” I hollered. “God only knows the ways in which that man truly operates. Perhaps John was told that he was sent here to destroy you and in fact, you are meant to destroy him. To prove to the king and everyone else that you are the Prince of Denmark and no one shall ever challenge that, especially him.”
He looked aside and grunted. “Do you truly believe that?”
“Yes.” I walked over and slipped my fingers around the goblet, removing it from his hand and placing it on the table. “You shall destroy this man with everything inside of you. Prove to he and the king that this is your country.” I lifted to my toes and softly kissed his lips. “Just as I am your wife.”
He wrapped both hands around me and caressed my waist. I rested my hands on his shoulders and fiddled with his collar.
“Your father believes your time spent with Brigita tonight was your most jovial moment of all.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “I wished for you, my favorite, as always. My father forced me to dance with someone else and given a choice, your handmaiden was most reasonable.”
I draped my arms around him even more and kissed him again, deeper this time.
He moved his hands around the front of my bodice and squeezed my breasts as if they were the ripest of fresh fruit from a garden. Instinctively, I dropped my hands to his backside and rested them there.
“Inform them who this country belongs to,” I said. “And then come back to me.”
I lightly shoved him away and he bit his lip.
“Are you to return to the ballroom?”
I shrugged. “Perhaps. Or I shall remain here and wait for your victorious return to me instead.”
I kissed him once more and placed my hands against his chest.
“Go,” I said.
He grinned wide before exiting the room.
As I waited near the balcony for his return, Esme entered, happily humming to herself. Her gown appeared crumpled and her hair a mess. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach and I gulped.
“He has had you,” I said. “You let him have you, despite my warnings.”
“It was because of your warnings that I gave him what he desired.” She leaned back on the door and ran her fingers across her chest, staring about the room as if she were in a blissful daze.
“He was your first?” I asked.
“Second.”
I tilted my head and squint with curiosity. “You gave him what he desired and now what?”
“Now, what?” She went over to the mirror and fixed her hair. She wiped her face down when she noticed the small beads of sweat. “If I am to bear his child, I shall become his wife.”
I chuckled. “You’re joking.”
“Am I?” she asked, blotting her pink pouted lips with the tips of her fingers.
“You must! Unless John has informed you that he shall marry, should you indeed be pregnant with his child?”
“He shall soon enough.”
“My God, you are a fool. A complete and utter fool if I ever knew one. He shall never marry you, Esmeralda, child or no child -- he shall never take you as a wife.”
“Why not?!”
“Because if he didn’t already, he certainly sees you as nothing more than a common whore now! And men of honor never marry their whores. Why do you believe the king remained married to Eliza despite his eternal love for Willem’s mother? You gave him what you both desired but he cannot and will not respect you any longer because of it.”
“Was I to wait until we were married?”
I enfolded my arms and looked away. I felt as if I were speaking to a plain white wall.
“There was a girl in the village,” I started. “I didn’t know her well, but I recall John coming for her often. She was a beggar. A vagabond, what have you. And she became pregnant with his child.”
“What happened to her? The child?”
“He demanded an abortion and I am ce
rtain he shall ask the same of you.”
“I don’t know…” She stopped and cleared her throat, then smiled sadly. “Perhaps this time shall be different. Perhaps he shall think of me differently than he thought of her.”
I puckered my brows, feeling a bit sorry for her. “Yes, perhaps. But if he doesn’t, you need to be prepared for it.”
Tears began to build in her eyes. She turned from me and wiped her face, then headed for the door.
“Shall I see you in the ballroom?” she asked, her voice cracking between words.
“No. I don’t wish to partake in anymore of this. I shall stay here for the remainder of the evening.”
She curtsied and exited.
Not long after, I undressed and climbed into bed. I thought of reading and even counting the tiny creases in the walls around the room, in the hopes that it would keep my mind off of the impending meeting with Norvack and his court, but nothing worked.
As soon as I forced my eyes to close, I heard his voice, calling for me. I noticed that he had began removing his clothes and dropped down beside me, kissing my bare skin and moving to my shoulder and neck, burying his soft lips as far deep into my skin as it would allow.
“I take it the summit was successful?”
I moved a hand into his hair and he kissed my lips.
“My future queen,” he muttered between them.
“I can taste the liquor on your tongue.”
“I wish for your sweetest spot instead.” He moved between my legs and lifted my gown to my waist. “I forced John to admit that I am to be the future King of Denmark, not he,” he continued. “My father stood silent, emotionless as I went on. And for the first time, I felt as if I were in power. I swore the man silently vowed to never say another word to me once I forced the one he wished to destroy me, to speak such filth.”
“The truth is not filth, especially not one like yours.”
“It is how my father sees it and always has. Which is why he betrayed my mother and often lied to her about it. It wasn’t until she learned the truth on her own that he finally confessed his sins. And by then, he had felt no shame in nearly destroying her life.”
He slipped his hands between my thighs and crawled his fingers upward. I sat up and looked deep into his eyes and caressed his face. He turned his cheek into my palm and deeply exhaled.
“How much have you had to drink tonight?” I asked, smiling.
He leaned down, his eyes shining bright, his face flushed from exhilaration. He never said another word and only kissed me.
I leaned back and smiled for a second time. “Perhaps you should rest tonight, in preparation for tomorrow’s dinner.”
“For a dinner than shall not take place until much later in the day?” He took my hand and ran his tongue over the back of it. I shivered. “I wish to have you for tonight.”
“And I wish for you to rest.”
He scrunched his brows in confusion. “You asked for me to return to you--”
“And you have,” I said. “Now I only wish for you to sleep alongside and hold me as you so often have before. I felt so safe in your arms, Norvack and I wish to feel that way again.”
He fell back and looked at my face for a long time. And then he moved his head this way and that.
“Alright. If this is what you wish for, my favorite girl…” He removed his trousers, tossing them to the floor and climbing in beside me. He took me in his arms and I squealed in delight. “I shall have you once more.” He moved a strand of hair from my face and slid his fingers into my hair. “Perhaps in the morning.”
“Perhaps,” I told him. “Or perhaps much later.”
“You live to torture me.”
“I am your personal torture chamber, isn’t that right?”
“Such words to use against me -- I prayed that would no longer be the case once we married.” He laughed.
I snuggled in beside him and licked my lips.
“You were quite patient with me,” I informed him. “More patient than any man I had ever known.”
“Because I love you. I always have and will.”
“This isn’t your brown liquor talking.”
“Never.” He grinned.
I placed my head upon his chest and rested my fingers against his stomach.
“What do you anticipate for tomorrow’s dinner?” I asked him.
He waited a moment before answering.
“War.”
“You expect a battle for certain?”
“Yes. Neither Belarus or his protégé took lightly to my words tonight.”
“Where shall John remain at this very moment?”
“In the east wing on the second floor.”
I turned back in shock. “Surely he shall seek out Esme or she him as they are now in such close proximity.” I groaned. “She gave herself to him tonight. And I fear what may become of those actions, especially now.”
“Esme shall handle him on her own, Cinderella. I would prefer it if you stayed out of her affairs, especially where the former General is concerned.”
“She’s my friend, Norvack and deserves to know what kind of man he is.”
“How long before you slip and tell her why you wish for her to keep away from him?” he asked in frustration. He dropped his hand to the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I have a feeling there is something more you’re not telling me. There seems to be a deep hatred on your end with regard to this man, one I’ve yet to see from his. And truth be told, I wouldn’t be opposed to it if I had.”
“I only…” I stopped and rattled my head. I knew I couldn’t inform him of this truth. Not now, perhaps never. “I only wish the best for Esmeralda. John is not that man.” I moved my hands beneath my chin to look and focus on his face, and grinned. “But you are, and always have been. It took much longer for me to realize it, but somewhere deep inside me, perhaps I always knew.”
“It took blackmail to achieve such great pleasures,” he said.
We both laughed.
He pushed my hair behind me and arched his brows in both surprise and happiness at my words. I wrapped one leg around his and grabbed his waist as tight as I could. It was the first time in what seemed like forever that we had fallen asleep in one another’s arms.
The Liability
The next morning, I felt the brush of an ice cold hand across my face. I shivered as it trailed lightly down my cheek and to my neck, swiping against my collarbone, teasing me. I smiled wide, believing it to be Norvack until I felt another hand sliding around my waist from behind. I puckered my brows then and gradually opened my eyes, preparing for the bright light to shine across the room. Only it had mostly been blocked by someone, a man. I jolted when I realized it was John, and reached for my blanket, pulling it up to my throat. He stood above, leering down at me as if I were a full course meal, soon to be eaten by none other than him.
And finished off by a pack of wild wolves of vultures.
“What in God’s name -- ?” I hissed.
“Shh.” He leaned down. “You’ll awake your saintly prince.”
I turned to glance at Norvack as he moved closer to me and rested his hand against my stomach, pulling me closer. It seemed as if he hadn’t heard a thing from either of us.
“How much brandy did he have to drink in your presence last night?” I asked.
“Enough to challenge the king on his own grounds. Yet, not nearly enough to rid himself of the thoughts of you and I together in rapture.”
I grit my teeth. “Get out.”
He dropped to his knees before me and rested his arms on the bed, whispering. I leaned back a little to avoid being too close to his face. “Not until you agree to my request first.” His eyes scanned the length of my body and he tasted his lips. “You should dress in something more appropriate and meet me in the gardens for a walk.”
“No.”
“If you wish to go in this manner, I wouldn’t be against it.” He peeked behind me to glare at Norvack. “Does he s
till call you his ‘favorite’?”
“How would you know something like that? And what difference does it make to you either way?”
“I know because he once informed me of a girl from the village that he had planned to marry someday. He called her his favorite of them all. But it makes no difference to me at all, Princess. I was only curious. As it stands” -- he slid the tips of his fingers up and down my arm -- “you have always been my favorite as well.”
“I was your whore!” I snapped. I glanced back at Norvack again; he remained sleeping. “What I was to you, I shall never be to him.”
“He fell for you, and married you, but is there much difference aside from that, Cinder?”
“Aside from that, as if it were all? He gave me a life. He made me his partner. What did you ever do? Desert me once you realized I had expired.”
“Hmm.” He tapped his index against his lip. “You’re beginning to make a very good case for yourself now, Princess. Perhaps we should ask the prince’s opinion on this.”
He raised an arm over me in an attempt to awake Norvack; my breath caught. I clutched his wrist before he could touch, and shoved him back. He chuckled.
“Fine. I shall meet with you in the gardens soon. Now, leave!”
He stood up again and nodded. “Very well. Out front, as promised.”
“As promised. Now, go!”
He smirked, backing out of the room.
I slid out of bed as quietly as I could and grabbed my robe. Norvack turned over on his side and I froze. When I realized he still hadn’t awakened, I wrapped the string around myself and snuck out of the room, making my way down to Brigita’s on the second floor.
She rubbed her eyes in the manner of a child when she answered and welcomed me inside.
“I need your help,” I told her.
“Anything, Cinder.”
I took a deep breath and moved across the room as she closed the door.
“I’m to meet with someone in the gardens and wish for a gown to wear.”
“The … John?”
“Yes. I’m to meet him soon.”
“Then I shall retrieve a gown for you--”
I waved my hand excitedly. “No!” She turned to look at me and frowned. I dropped my hand and gulped. “No,” I repeated, more calmly this time. “The prince is still sleeping. I don’t wish for you to awake him by entering the room. I hoped to wear a gown of yours.”
